1.1.1-Revbutciv
And so it begins! Willkommen, bienvenu! Bad Cabaret jokes aside, I do love that one part of the Bishop’s long name is the word for welcome. I think that it particularly fits his character (especially as we meet in later chapters). He truly is an upright man, as the title of the book tells us. Because my Lit teachers have taught me well (or drilled it into me so much I can’t escape), I always read with a highlighter. Here’s the quotes of merit I found from this chapter: "Whether true or false, what is said about men often has as much influence on their lives, and particularly on their destinies, as what they do." I love Hugo for his ability to drop wonderful little nuggets of truth into his great storytelling. This is one of my favorites, because it’s just so true. "M. Myriel had to submit to the fate of every newcomer in a small town, where many tongues talk, but few heads think." Speaking of nuggets of truth, here’s another great one. Who hasn’t met people like this? "She was the incarnation of the world ‘respectable,’ whereas to be ‘venerable,’ a woman should also be a mother." Mlle Baptistine does not get discussed enough. She’s a wonderful character, as will be revealed more once we get into more of the book. I could go on and on about how much I love her. "What had been thinness in her youth was in her maturity a transparency, and this ethereal quality permitted glimmers of the angel within." But seriously, where is the Baptistine love? There should be more of that in this fandom. Also, Mme Magloire. Because the two of them are just so wonderful. (And I’m past the point of coherency tonight, it seems, but maybe I’ll be more eloquent when it’s not almost 3 in the morning.) Commentary Doeskin-pantaloons Baptistine love, you say? Here I am with an idea! Okay, so we know that it’s thanks to the Bishop that Valjean became so very good, right? But I started wondering, then, what made the Bishop so good? So I was reading along, and you basically get, “He emigrated to England. His wife died. He came back a priest - no idea why.” Which is weirdly detail-light for Hugo. (Although I suppose he is putting us in the place of the villagers of Digne, who get to gossip and contemplate the Bishop’s origins.) But when you read about Baptistine, you find out that “her whole life…had been nothing but a succession of holy deeds…” So I figure that the influence of his amazing sister would have had some - if not quite a lot - of bearing on the Bishop’s development, especially after the death of his wife, during which time I gather that Baptistine was in Italy with him. Therefore, we have not the Bishop, but Baptistine to thank for Valjean turning out so amazingly good, and thus leading us through the rest of the book. That’s my theory, anyhow. (Also, just remembered to add - not only is his name the word for welcome, but we also get the pun on ‘le digne curé’ meaning ‘the worthy curé’.) Alasse-irena (reply to Doeskin-pantaloons) It is like a little family tree of goodness. Baptistine —> Myriel —> Valjean —> Cosette (who is so good she is like a little lantern of goodness)… Revbutciv (reply to Doeskin-pantaloons) Ooh, yes! This is an excellent point you bring up. I really wonder what Myriel was like before he decided to join the church. And in that same vein, I’d love to have seen more on what Baptistine was like earlier in her life, as well. Hugo, why was this the one part you decided to skimp on the details? Caramarthenfan (reply to Doeskin-pantaloons) Reblogging for super excellent analysis and wherrrrrre is all the Baptistine and Myriel and so on fic? Smokefalls (reply to Revbutciv's reply) AHHHHH I love this reading because it means ONCE AGAIN, and at the very start of it all, even before Fantine, ladies are the movers and shakers of this narrative. Doeskin-pantaloons (reply to Revbutciv's reply) Why? Because Hugo really wanted us all to write Madamoiselle Baptistine fanfic, that’s why.